


What Makes You Happy

by AmbroseRivers



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: (With established relationship parts integrated in between scenes), First Meeting, Fluff, Handball Player! Dan, M/M, Strangers to Lovers, Zoo Docent! Phil, like tooth-rotting fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-02-22 04:13:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13159062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmbroseRivers/pseuds/AmbroseRivers
Summary: Each time Dan meets Phil, he falls a little deeper (and he wonders how he got so lucky.)





	What Makes You Happy

**Author's Note:**

> Alrighty!  
> This was written as a Christmas/Cheer Up present for Sofie (@PoisonedMind here on the Archive) and I usually cross-post my pieces so here we are!  
> I would like to make a note: Fluff is not my forte and I am not familiar with handball {It looks intense and the faces the players make is just- XD} so while it may not be completely accurate...I assure you I tried. lol  
> I hope you enjoy! <3

_“Get your head in the game, Howell!” Matt shouts from where he is trying to spot an opening and Dan grits his teeth in response. “We can’t afford distractions!”_

_“Make him proud, Dan!” Tyler screams from the goal situated behind them._

**_I just need to…_ **

_Dan’s eyes narrow as his concentration snaps back to their match, following the arc of the ball determinedly, as he twists to try and sidestep the player that has been his shadow for most of the game._

**_We can win this._ **

-

The first time he spotted the dark-haired boy was after a disappointing loss.

Tyler had been  _devastated_ that he hadn’t been able to block the winning point in time and Matthew had been harassing the dark blonde goalie incessantly until their coach stepped in with a, “Keep it up, Matt and I’ll put you on the bench.”

Matt hadn’t opened his mouth after the threat but the damage was done and so, Dan had found himself dragging Tyler to the Chester Zoo to see the new Asian elephant baby that he had been squealing about the week before.

“You don’t have to do this, Howell.” Tyler muttered under his breath as Dan pushed him, refusing to lift his heels. “It was my faul—“

“Ty,” There wasn’t any heat behind the nickname but Dan shoved him again fiercely, grinning at Tyler’s grunt. “Shut the fuck up and walk, your highness.” His hand was heavy as he whacked Tyler’s shoulder playfully, shuffling to join the short queue. “You know as well as I do that if Anthony and Chris had completed that give and go without getting fouled, we would have been  _golden.”_

Tyler refused to respond to his words but his lips peeled back in a small but shaky smile. He fiddled with the zip of his hoodie and kept his eyes on their dusty trainers as they moved.

“Seriously,” Dan lowered his voice as he snickered. “Matt is an ass. Ignore him.” He waved his hand for emphasis as if he was shooing away a droning fly. “We’ll do better next game.”

“I know,” Tyler let out a large exhale of air. “I just- I  _had_  it and-“

“-and you’ll have it again.” Dan interrupted easily as he stepped forward to purchase their admission tickets, reaching into the pocket of his trackies for his wallet. “One loss won’t kill us.”

“I know.” Tyler mumbled, shoulders still tensed and raised.

“Then stop being an idiot for one second and listen to me.” Dan rolled his eyes as he turned to the ticket seller with his dimple popping on his cheek charmingly. “Can I get two..uh…”

The first thing Dan noticed about him was that his cheekbones were sharp enough to cut yourself on.

The second is that his lips are stained a cherry red.

_Has he been eating ice lollies because no one’s lips can possibly…_

The last thing he registered in his already disoriented mind was the fact that the boy’s eyes twinkled as those lips moved.

_Fuck. What did he say?_

“P-Pardon?” Dan stuttered, feeling the telltale heat scorch his cheeks as he skimmed the tip of his thumb over the bills in his wallet.

“How many tickets, sir?” His voice was deep and nasally with a northern twang. Dan’s tongue darted across his lips nervously just as Tyler jumped in with a horribly timed tease:

“I apologize. He doesn’t know how to handle pretty boys.”

Dan reminded himself that his coach would  _actually_ murder him if he mortally wounded Tyler as his face flushed even more.

The boy’s cheeks were rosy as well but he laughed good-naturedly, shaking his head.

“Well…”

Dan hadn’t given him the chance to finish.

He dipped his head with a high-pitched “Sorry!” while he wrapped his fingers tightly around Tyler’s bicep to drag him away. Tyler’s obnoxious but pleased laugh tore through the air and echoed behind them as Dan rushed to the car.

“I changed my mind- it is your fault.” Dan growled as his knuckles went white from clutching the steering wheel so hard.

“Aw,” Tyler cooed, despite Dan’s quiet fuming. “You think he’s cute!”

“I will fucking deck you.”

The first time Dan meets him… his heart doesn’t stop hammering in his chest until they have peeled out of the parking lot and are well on their way back to their hotel.

-

_Dan is hopping from foot to foot with even more pent up energy than usual, knowing that Phil is watching._

_He takes his opportunity to grab the ball, pacing three steps, before cutting the ball to the left._

_He hisses out a happy “Yes!” when it bounces off the wall and into Anthony’s reach, tossing his head to dislodge his curling fringe from his forehead and out of his field of vision._

**_C’mon, c’mon, c’mon…_ **

-

The second time he encounters the boy…Tyler had offered to take him as a sort of apology for embarrassing him when he was trying to help.

They managed to make it pass the ticket gate without fuss (much to Dan’s relief and Tyler’s bemused disappointment) and had even gotten to gush over the adorable tiny stomping baby elephant, fuzzy but moody meerkats, and the majestic rhinos when Dan catches sight of him.

He was strolling lazily along the walls, scanning the animals briefly in each enclosure, with a towel draped across his arm.

“Isn’t that your boy?” Tyler whispered fervently, practicallyquivering with excitement. “How lucky!”

“I will murder you,” Dan deadpanned as he locked eyes with Tyler meaningfully. “Don’t say anything or draw atten—“ Dan cut himself off with a yell as he rammed his knee into the corner of an unmoving stone bench. He immediately brought it on the surface, curling his torso over it protectively, as his eyes stung. “Holy  _fuck._  That  _hurts.”_ He grumbled lowly, taking a deep breath through his nose.

“Walk it off,” Tyler encouraged, patting his back in the same manner he would if he had gotten winded in their practice scrimmages. “C’mon. You’ve had worse.”

“It still  _hurts._ ” Dan seethed, even as he gingerly lowered it back to the ground and took a few wobbly steps.

“Hey,” Dan peered up between his lashes at the boy sauntering to him with worried crinkles carving crevasses into the skin at the edges of his eyes and a full lower ( _less red_ ) lip pinched between his teeth. “I uh-“ He rubbed his the top of his arm bashfully, mucking up the tan polo to reveal a dotting of freckles. Dan smiled at the flustered, adorable mess this boy was. “I’m heading to a first aid station…they might have some ice- i-if you want?”

Dan shook his head, slapping a hand over his mouth as a snort escaped him unbidden. “I’ve had worse.”

“Oh,” There’s a pink tongue trapped between slightly crooked teeth and if Dan wasn’t gone before, he sure is  _now._ “Sorry to hear that.”

“It’s…y’know…a thing.”  _Shit. I can speak, I promise._

“Like running away from boys you find cute?” The boy giggled and Dan ignored the blush creeping up his neck and face to cough.

“Hey now,” Dan grumbled, gently pushing against the guy’s shoulder. “Can you blame me?”

“You’re not too bad yourself.” He parried instantly but nearly inaudibly, laying his hand over the towel, before letting out a pained hiss. “I’ve go to go- sorry.”

Dan’s stomach dropped to the soles of his feet at the words but he can see the way the boy’s lips are twisted into a corner of his mouth and-

Dan frowned.

“Yeah…are you okay though?”

“Yeah,” He laughed, pulling the corner of the towel more securely over his forearm. “Nuki- the baby jaguar- got a bit overzealous while she was suckling and snagged me with her claws. It’s not serious.” Dan watched as a dopey smile stretched across his face, tip of that tongue wiggling, and while he wanted to lose himself in that smile…

“A  _jaguar?”_

“Yes?”

“And you’re stalling  _here_?” Dan’s voice rose a few octaves, reaching for a name he didn’t know so he blurted the first thing that came to mind. “You-you  _spork.”_

“Dan!” Tyler groaned and slapped a hand across his forehead.

“I’ve never heard that one before.” The boy hummed, eyes sparking with a bolt of mischief. “Kudos, Dan, but my name is actually Phil.”

The second time Dan runs into Phil…he learns that there is a saying for handling big cats, “Claws hurt but teeth kill.” and he thinks that Phil doesn’t need either because his heart has willingly abandoned him to rest in Phil’s hands as they walk together to get him patched up.

-

_“Move!” Dan shrieks at Chris who has had the ball in his hands for far too long already and Chris obeys without any hesitation, passing it to Matthew._

_There is sweat pouring down his cheeks and Dan is panting heavily but he sprints and curves his body around the two that are trying to block his movements._

_They are hot on his heels but Dan catches the ball with his elbow, snatching it from the air before it can escape._

_-_

The third time Dan sees Phil…it is intentional and he’s still dressed in his uniform, garish yellow shorts reflecting the sunlight as he sits down.

“Hey, you.” Phil greeted, mouth stuffed of half-chewed bread, cheese, and pepperoni. “Nice hair.”

Dan touched the damp curls self-consciously and sighed, “I didn’t have time to change...if I was going to make it on time. Sorry if I stink.” Dan wrinkled his nose at the knowledge that he did, indeed, reek. He had driven with the windows down but he’s not sure how much it helped.

“I promise I have smelled worse.” Phil reassured, scraping a napkin across his face. “Are you hungry?”

“Not at all,” Dan tried to lie when his stomach gurgled betrayingly. “I-“

Phil slid the tiny order of fries across the table to him with a gentle rumble vibrating in his chest. “Betrayed by your own stomach.”

“I know- rude.” Dan quipped, drumming his fingers uncertainly on the metal table top before tentatively taking a single fry. “I can’t just take your food, Phil.”

“It’s fine,” Phil dismissed, swinging the pizza in his hand. Tiny droplets of grease rained on their table. “I have snacks hidden around.”

Dan shook his head and nibbled on his fry. “Isn’t that against the rules of being a zoo keeper?”

“I can’t take food in the habitats,” Phil clarified with a small pout in Dan’s direction. “There isn’t any restrictions on  _having_  snacks and besides,” Phil hummed, clasping his hands behind his neck and stretching. “I’m not a zoo keeper, yet. I’m just a docent.”

“A docent?” Dan questioned, munching on some more of Phil’s fries.

“I’m a volunteer, basically.” Phil explained patiently, laying his pizza on the paper plate and sucking the shininess left behind on his fingertip from the grease. “I want to be a zoo keeper when I finish my degree but I’m not there _yet_.” Phil’s eyes softened as a tiny smile danced across his lips. “Just a little bit more and I will be.”

Dan snatched a pepperoni off of Phil’s pizza with a slight pang of guilt. He was always hungry after practice and pizza was infinitely tastier than soggy fries. 

He quickly shoved it in his mouth.

“What about you, Dan?”

Dan chewed deliberately, not only to savor the spice skittering across his taste buds but to stall answering. He had never been keen on sharing his occupation because it brought too many questions and ended with most people being one of two things: disinterested or way too curious about his salary. He couldn’t even be sure that Phil had heard about handball before- he didn’t seem very sporty.

 _“Shame on you, Daniel. Being judgmental is not a good trait to have.”_  His mother’s peeved scolding drifted across his mind and Dan swallowed. He didn’t want to lie to Phil so he settled for the next best thing.

“I’m an athlete.”

“That explains the uniform.” Phil jested, tearing off a small chunk of his napkin to toss it at Dan. “What do you play?”

_Fuck._

“Handball,” Dan answered,smiling despite the hard stone of dread settling in the pit of his tummy. “I love it.”

“I’ve heard of it but,” Phil told him, turning the plate with his long fingers absentmindedly. “I’m afraid I am not much of a sports person but if you enjoy it, that’s all that matters, right?”

The tension at the nape of Dan’s subsided slightly at the shy way Phil was regarding him from beneath his fringe and hope blossomed under his rib cage: scorching, painful, and so, so good.

“I hope so,” Dan murmured, a confession of a sorts that breezed past his lips unbidden. “A more stable career would be a safer option. More steady income, you know.”

Dan winced.  _I’m just asking for misery. I hate when people ask how much I make._

“ _Safer_ doesn’t mean  _better_.” Phil leaned into his space, the light expanse of his eyes darkening a full shade in an effort to mirror his suddenly serious demeanor. “Seriously, Dan. If it makes you happy, stick with it.”

Dan’s mouth was dry and the roof stuck to his tongue as he opened his mouth but the heartfelt thanks he was about to utter turned into a squeak when Phil stole a fry.

“Hey!”

“You should tell me the next time you play,” Phil continued to talk even though he is nibbling on Dan’s (well, it was really his but that’s just  _technicalities_.) fry.  “Maybe I can come watch and see what handball is like.”

The third time he is in Phil’s presence…Dan is a little bit happier and lets whatever is between them grow organically as they chat and snicker until Phil has to report back to his station.

-

_“You did it!” Phil is yelling, grabbing his cheeks with energy crackling in his otherworldly eyes. Electric streaks of gold spark in a sweeping crescents in a wide expanse of pale greenish blue and Dan laughs, exhilarated. “You were so good, Dan!”_

_Dan crushes the hand on the right side of his face and beams at Phil._

_“It was nothing,” Dan deflects, even though his heart is still crashing wildly in his chest cavity from the last goal he scored before time was called. “Nothing at all.”_

_“You’re lying! You were so, so goo—“_

_Dan’s lips slam against Phil’s._

_They are soft and give under his rough, adrenaline-filled kiss and Dan melts as Phil presses closer, fisting his hands in his jersey. There’s cheering around them, piercing wolf whistles, but all Dan cares about is Phil, Phil, Phil._

_He pulls away and leans his forehead against Phil’s, shaking with mirth._

_“I love you.”_

_“I love you, too, Danny.“_

**Author's Note:**

> Cross-posted from my Tumblr: loveinthebones


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